Were You Really Gone?
by Miss-Gamer-Artist
Summary: what happened to Claire when she traveled into the future? did Dimitri ever try experiments on her? when Claire dissapeared, did the professor search for an awnser? How did Clive handle the situation of a fake underground london? read to find out.
1. A Nervous Day

**Hello everyone! I'm new here on Fanfiction and this is my first Fanfic! So please don't review me harshly. I've always had this story in mind, and I knew that the best place to upload it was on Fanfiction! Ok, so let's get started. Enjoy!**

Claire closed the front door carefully and raced to her car. Little did she know what was to come from her time travel experiment. When she got to her work building, Claire got a little nervous. _Don't worry, Bill said the experiment was going to be safe _Claire thought to herself. She clumsily took the stairs to her floor. When her hand grabbed the doorknob, Claire started to breathe heavily. Was she really that nervous? As brave as can be, she opened the door to find Bill reading some papers.

"Claire, you are here! Perfect timing as always!" said Bill cheerfully.

"Thanks Bill, I was afraid I was going to be late." explained Claire, as she walked in.

"Not at all, now shall we begin?" asked Bill nervously. He walked over to the giant machine that was supposed to be the Time Travel Machine.

Back at his apartment was Professor Hershel Layton. He had recently become a Professor and he was proud of it. Before Claire left, she had given him a top hat as a present. "I guess you can say I look like a gentleman." Hershel told himself. He looked at himself in a mirror and did different poses with his hat. "A true gentleman." He said once more.

**And that's all for this chapter. I'm sorry if it's short. But anyway, please review and tell me your HONEST opinion on this.**


	2. It Begins Now

**Aaaaaand I'm back! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I feel so inspired! :D I did find that mistake and I will fix it later, thank you for pointing that out. Now this chapter is a little longer. Enjoy!**

Claire stuck her hands in her lab coat's pockets and inspectioned the Time Machine. "Was Dimitri going to be here for the experiment?" asked Claire.

Bill looked at her and answered with a calm voice. "Yes, he said he will be here soon." Bill knew the truth. Dimitri wasn't going to come for the experiment. He knew that if he did invite Dimitri over, he would stop Bill before the experiment began.

Claire took out a pocket watch she had in her pocket. It was given to her by Hershel. Not only was it beautiful to her, but it helped keep track of time. Just looking at it made a tear go down Claire's cheek. She truly loved Hershel with all her heart.

"It's ready" said a serious bill.

"Oh, ok. Let's begin." said Claire, wiping the tear away.

"Just stay calm in there." said Bill. _It will be worth the money_ he thought.

Claire stepped in the machine and watched as the golden doors closed. She held on to the watch and was ready for the machine to begin.

"Here we go." said Bill, who was now punching buttons and pulling levers.

Claire could hear the machine starting up. She soon saw colors forming in mid air. She blinked several times to make sure she was ok. Now everything was shaking. Claire just held on to her pocket watch and hoped for the best. Everything was different now. The shaking was intense and the lights all were white. "I love you, Hershel" were her last words before chaos occurred.

**Ok maybe this chapter wasn't as long as thought it would be. But I guess I can deal with it. Next chapter will be longer! **


	3. The Explosion

**Ok, let's continue on this fan fiction. I tried to divide this chapter so that a lot of the characters have their own sort of point of view. AND this chapter is longer.**

Dimitri

Dimitri ran. He ran with all his might to his work building. He could feel sweat go down his forehead and his heart beat faster and faster. He couldn't stop now. Not when he knew Claire was in danger. Finally, his work building came into view but at that split second, a giant explosion occurred. Part of the building went up into flames and black smoke covered the air. _Oh no_, he though. Dimitri rushed into the building only to see what Bill has done. Dimitri searched franticly for Claire. Once he found her, Dimitri lifted her. He held her for a few moments. All was silent except for her calm voice. "It worked. The time machine worked." said Claire as her body started to disappear. "N-no, you're n-not stable. I-I will have to wait for the future to fix this." said Dimitri, right as Claire disappeared.

Bill

Bill stood there, hands on levers. He looked very excited. As the machine went on, so did his happiness. Bill knew that at this rate, the money would be his. Until the machine went out of control. "No, no!" he yelled. Just as he began to punch more buttons and pull more levers, the machine exploded. It was a mighty explosion. It pushed him back and slammed him against a wall. When Bill opened his eyes, all he saw was the back of Dimitri's white coat.

Claire

It was horror for Claire. She stood there, wide eyed at what was happening. For a split second she saw the future. She saw Bill and Dimitri, in their work room. They were happy to see her. But at that same moment, there was the explosion. Pain. It hit her like lightning. When she opened her eyes, there was Dimitri. So many questions crossed her mind, but she knew she only had some energy to say some words. Before she spoke, she remembered her love, Hershel Layton. She remembered how she had said she would meet up with him for dinner that same day. But now, her life was over. "It worked. The time machine worked." was all she said before Dimitri tried to make an excuse to save her. As her body disappeared, a tear went down her cheek.

Professor Layton

Hershel heard it right outside his house. The loud boom that came from the time machine. He also ran to the building only to find the black smoke in the air. _Claire_, he thought. _Claire, no._ He stood with other people and they all watched in horror as the building's damage came clear. Tears started forming in Hershel's eyes. One by one, the tears rolled down his cheek. But that's when he saw it. A little boy tried to run into the building but Hershel stopped him. "No! My parents are in there! I have to go get them!" said the young boy. The little boy's name was Clive. "Stay here, you're going to get yourself killed in there!" said Hershel as he embraced the young Clive. "Nooooo!" yelled Clive, as he broke down into tears. He held on to the professor's coat and sobbed. Hershel only looked back at the building to see the ambulance was parked next to it. "My parents, are gone!" murmured Clive. "Don't worry, I lost someone too that I loved." said Hershel to Clive. He was only trying to calm him down.

**I started crying while I was making this chapter. I found myself grabbing tissues once I finished this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think. I'm going to go to the bathroom. *goes in bathroom, closes door, and starts sobbing* I need a hug!**


	4. Pain

**Ok, let's move on. This chapter is longer. Oh, and thanks for all of the hugs, I fell a little better. :')**

The professor looked around his room. He was looking for a notebook. A new notebook. He stopped when he found it and he grabbed it. It has been a few days after the accident. After he found out Claire's body went missing, he went crazy and cried for three days straight. Once he got back to his senses, the professor got to work to try and figure out what caused the explosion and why Claire's body disappeared.

With a pen in hand and a notebook in the other, Hershel started to jot down facts he knew about the accident. More and more he wrote down but couldn't come up with an answer. "Lucky for me, every puzzle has an answer." said Claire once. Hershel believed this so he didn't give up. As more days came, he read as many newspapers to find information about the accident.

It was until one day, late at night, Hershel took his notebook and pen to a tea shop. There he drank his favorite tea and wrote more information. When he finished he started to walk home, that was until the man appeared. He wore black clothes and he stayed to the shadows, so no one will see his face.

"What have you written in that notebook?" asked the man.

His voice sounded familiar to the professor except he couldn't exactly figure it out. "None of your business." said the professor. He continued walking until the man got in front of him.

"Stop and give me that notebook." said the man, aggressively.

"Get away from me!" said the professor as he shoved the man to the side.

"So that's how you want to play this?" said the man as he shoved the professor to the floor.

The professor kicked him away, stood up and ran. He ran for his dear life but the stranger caught up to him and punched Hershel's stomach. "Uff." He said as he fell to the floor.

"Now hand me that notebook! Unless you prefer to get beaten to bits!" yelled the man.

The professor didn't give up and stood up quickly. He punched the man in his face and kicked him once again. By that time, it had started to rain.

From a window nearby was a young Clive. He looked out the window to see the professor being beaten up. He gasped at the sight. "No!" he said to himself as he saw the professor being punched in the eye.

"Now you're done Hershel!" said the man as he punched Hershel in the stomach. With that, the professor fell to the floor unconscious. The man laughed at the scene and grabbed his notebook.

The next time Hershel opened his eyes, he saw it was still raining. He stood up and felt pain in his right eye. His stomach and face weren't any better. When Hershel saw his notebook on the floor, he quickly picked it up and opened it to see the damage that was done. Almost all of the pages of his research were torn out. "No! I was so close on solving this!" he yelled. As he walked home in the rain, he felt one of his pockets heavy. When he reached inside, there was an ice pack. Little did he know it was placed there by a caring, young Clive.

When Hershel got home, he reached into a drawer and pulled out a small box. When he opened it, there was a diamond ring. He sighed at the sight of it. He then placed the box away, placed the ice pack on his eye, and rested. For the rest of the night, he had nightmares of the man and about Claire disappearing.

**Excuse me, *blows nose and wipes tears away* ok, I'm a little better now… oh who am I kidding, I'm crying again! It wasn't so easy writing this chapter for I cried, again. Anyone want some tissues? I have boxes of them sitting here waiting to be used. **


	5. Trying to Make Things Better

**Another chapter coming up! This chapter takes place in the future, or the 10 years later that Claire traveled. Here we go. Enjoy!**

She looked around as she appeared. Not much ruble was left since she disappeared into the future. Claire was surprised when Dimitri walked through the door. He was panting as if he was running.

"Claire! You're here!" said Dimitri, with a smile on his face.

"Yes, I just appeared a few seconds ago." explained Claire.

"Good, now you don't worry, for these ten years that you were gone, I worked out a way to stabilize your body." said Dimitri as he took out a bunch of papers from a folder. "I didn't give up until I found a solution."

Dimitri got right to work. Every once in a while he would turn to Claire, who was looking out the window. Claire noticed not much had changed since she left. "Claire, you might not want to be so close to the window, people might see you." said Dimitri as he wrote down notes. "Oh, sorry Dimitri." said Claire. "It's ok, but here, step on this scale, I need your weight for this experiment." explained Dimitri. Claire did what she was told and soon enough, she was measured. After a while, Claire took out the pocket watch from her coat pocket. The first thing she thought was Hershel.

"Dimitri how's Hershel?" asked Claire.

Dimitri looked up from his papers and answered with the calmest voice he had. "He is doing ok. I see him going around town solving puzzles and mysteries. So far, he has solved every puzzle thrown at him and figured every mystery he's seen."

"Has he remembered me?" asked Claire

"Truth is he is a true gentleman and yes, he has remembered you." explained Dimitri. "He even almost solved the mystery of why you disappeared."

"Did he really?" asked Claire with interest.

"Yes, and he hasn't given up." said Dimitri as he continued to write.

_So you're a gentleman? You did listen to me. _Thought Claire as she looked out the window again. As she saw many people walk by, she spotted Hershel. Claire wanted to go down there and talk to him, but she knew she couldn't. Suddenly, Claire knew that Dimitri wasn't going to be able to stabilize her. She knew that he would be breaking the laws of physics and that was thought to be impossible.

"Dimitri, stop this." said Claire, now serious.

"What are you talking about?" asked Dimitri.

"I mean stop trying to save me and leave me to go back to my time." explained Claire

Dimitri was shocked at what Claire had just sad. "But, why go back when you can live now, in our time?"

"Because Dimitri, this makes no sense. I know your almost done with this project, I but had a good life and-"Claire was cut off by Dimitri.

"What are you talking about, your making no sense Claire. You're just nervous, aren't you?" asked Dimitri

"Well, Dimitri. But-"once again, she was cut off.

"But nothing Claire! We are going to save you, because you deserve to live!" said Dimitri as he wrote down the final notes. "There, I'm done. Now we are going to test the experiment tomorrow. For now, you can sleep in this room" Dimitri walked up to a wall and pushed a button that was attached to it. Then, a bed came out through the side. "There is a refrigerator to your left and a drawer to your right; they contain enough food for 2 weeks. Oh, and don't worry about this room, no one is allowed to enter here. Only I can and we have security for it." explained Dimitri as he left the room.

"goodbye." he said.

"bye." said Claire.

When Dimitri left, Claire rushed to the window to see if Hershel was still there. He wasn't. _I will see you one day, Hershel_ thought Claire as she took out the clock once more. _I will. _That's when Claire realized that Dimitri didn't say if a restroom was nearby. Luckily there was a sink in the room. _A sink? Really Dimitri? _Was Claire's last thought before she sat on the bed to rest.

**There we go. This chapter wasn't as sad as I thought it would be. Long, but not sad. I guess these tissue boxes can wait. I also tried to add humor in the ending. Poor Claire, no toilet, only a sink. But anyways, please review if you have the time to! **


	6. Pain and Comfort

**Let's see, another chapter. I'm starting to get used to the whole upload new chapter and story stuff. This chapter takes place back in the past, where the professor sees the evil man again! I'm going to get the tissues out. Enjoy!**

It was late afternoon and the professor was walking home from a tea shop when he saw the mysterious man again. He was standing in the shadows. The professor right away turned around and walked the other way. _I guess I'll take a different route this time_, he told himself. In the professor's hand was a notebook he recently got and wrote notes down for the investigation of Claire's disappearance. He quickly skimmed through the pages and saw all of his notes.

"Hey you!" said the man.

The professor realized the mysterious man had caught to him. He just ignored him and walked away.

"Turn around you fool!" said the man once again.

"Leave me alone!" yelled the professor back. He only kept walking faster and faster.

"Come back here!" said the man as he caught up to the professor once again.

"Go away!" said the professor turning around and kicking him in the face.

The man fell to the floor in pain and remained there for a few seconds. By then it was night. "Hershel, you reckless man!" said the stranger as he stood up carefully. The professor kicked him again, knocking him down to the floor. "Leave me alone! You tore out my research papers once and I won't let it happen again! And how do you know my name?" asked the professor furiously. The man only held on to his face with one hand and helped himself stand up with the other. "That is for me to know and for you not to find out!" said the man as he punched Hershel in the stomach. The professor grabbed his stomach in pain and gasped for air. With the man's elbow, he hit the professor on his back, causing him to fall down. Hershel got up fast and punched the man in his face. Then, kicked him in the stomach.

"Tell me who you are and what do you want?" demanded the professor.

"It's just business!" said the man. He gave Hershel a punch on his face and he knocked him out once again. The man took Hershel's notebook, ripped out a lot of his pages, crumbled them, and stuffed them in his pocket. Then, he left.

On that same moment, Claire re appeared in a building. Her body wasn't stable enough to kill her, but enough for her to be in the past (or to her true present) she was almost invisible when she appeared and she stayed that way for the next few minutes. She blinked her eyes a few times in disbelief and looked around. _Wasn't I asleep on the bed Dimitri showed me? _Claire thought to herself. Apparently, her body tried returning to her true time while she was asleep. The place was still a mess from the explosion, but Claire didn't mind. She looked out the nearest window to see the professor on the floor unconscious. She gasped at the sight and went down to see him.

"Hershel, no. Are you ok?" asked Claire. She got no response. "Hershel, please. Oh this is my entire fault! Why did I agree to do that experiment?" said Claire as she kneeled down next to the professor. "All, you wanted to do is solve this mystery. But, that man tried to stop you. He took your research papers. But don't worry Hershel, I am going to find out who this man is!" said Claire. She could hear the professor breathing, so she knew he was still alive. "I'm sorry." said Claire as she bent down and gave the professor a kiss on the cheek. As a tear slipped down Claire's cheek, her body glowed and she disappeared back to the future.

A few minutes later, the professor woke up. He felt tired and all he wanted to do was go home and rest. Once again he picked up his notebook and saw all of the missing pages. The professor sighed at the sighed at the sight and only walked slowly to his house. When he got there, he remembered something. He remembers hearing a voice, almost like Claire's. But he ignored it, knowing that Claire was dead. The professor lay on his bed, and fell to sleep right away.

**Well, I'm glad I brought out those tissues. I needed them. As you see, I added a little romance. I'm mean why not, we all know Claire loved Hershel and Hershel loved Claire. If he only knew that it was actually Claire talking to him. Next chapter will be on soon!**


	7. The Test

**New chapter here! Back to the future (that reminds me of a movie! ^_^) with Claire and Dimitri. This happens right after the last chapter.**

Claire woke up from her sleep. Sun filled her room and she sat up slowly. She still remembers the events of last night, when her body tried returning to her time. Claire ate some breakfast and waited for Dimitri to come. A few minutes later, Dimitri walked in with a bunch of papers and a small machine.

"Good morning, good to see you awake." said Dimitri as he closed the door.

"Good morning Dimitri. I'm ready for the experiment." said Claire trying to look excited.

"You look pale. Did you have a scare?" asked Dimitri as he took out specific papers from his big pile.

"Well, my body tried going to back to my time last night. When I was in the past, I saw Hershel on the floor unconscious. Some man stole most of his research papers." explained Claire.

"Not good. Your body tried returning and that could have killed you. Oh, and about Hershel, like I said, he is trying to solve this mystery, but someone is trying to stop him." said Dimitri.

"Has this happened recently?" asked Claire.

"No actually, but he has written notes. He almost solved it." said Dimitri.

Claire looked proud of Hershel. She knew he would solve it one day. "Ok, so let's test this experiment. I have brought this spare machine that would take in an impact if the experiment fails and the main machine explodes." explained Dimitri as he held out a small looking box. Dimitri stuck a few suction cups on Claire's head. They were connected to wires that went to the main machine. Dimitri flipped a few switches and punched a few buttons and watched as the machine started. He flipped on a pair of goggles and gave Claire a thumbs up as he pushed the last button. The button that started it all. The machine got louder and louder and Claire could see the world getting whiter and whiter. On that same second, the machine exploded, but the impact got sucked by the other small machine. Thanks to that, no one got hurt. But black smoke filled the room for a second.

After it cleared up, Claire looked all around to see the room was covered with black. Apparently the smoke stained everything, including Claire and Dimitri, from head to toe. Dimitri removed his stained glasses to reveal his clean eyes. "The machine failed. And now this room is completely dirty." said Dimitri with a sigh. "I don't know what went wrong, my calculations were correct!" Claire only turned around to look at the wall. Since she was against the wall, the black smoke didn't hit it, so there was an exact figure of Claire on the wall. She giggled at the sight.

"Don't worry Dimitri, we can try your machine again tomorrow." said Claire.

"I'll have to check the machine. Something wasn't right." said Dimitri, packing all of his stained papers.

"Um, Dimitri is there a shower nearby?" asked Claire.

"Yes, there is a restroom across the hallway. I forgot to tell you that yesterday." said Dimitri as he grabbed the machines. "Let's clean this place up a little."

For the next few hours, Claire and Dimitri cleaned up the room and made sure everything was ok. After they finished, Dimitri dismissed himself and he left. The first thing Claire did when Dimitri left was shower. She found some spare clothes n a drawer and she slipped them on. The clothes were so different. For a second, Claire thought about going out to public with those clothes, her hair down, and no glasses. _This is a good idea_, she thought to herself. _I am going to go out there and be named… _Claire thought for a second _Celeste!_

**Yep, that's another chapter. I think there's more humor here than sadness. Oh, and Beeju, next chapter will be based on some of your ideas.**


	8. Life and Memories

**Back to the story. This one takes place after the professor went to sleep, in the morning.**

The professor woke up from his sleep. He felt weak for some odd reason. He didn't care; he only got up, got dressed, and headed to his office. That was, until he realized it was Saturday. He sighed when he remembered and headed back home. There, the professor felt dizzy, and his head was hurting. Then, his stomach turned and he raced to the restroom. He threw up, a lot. For a second, the professor thought he had gotten a concussion. But he wasn't sure so he headed to the doctor right away. On the way, the professor stopped by the nearest news stand to get the daily newspaper. When he paid the man, he lost it. His balance and thought, they started to fade. The professor tried to stay standing but lost control of his legs and he only fell to the floor. Many people saw him and they all rushed to try and help him. He blinked a few times to see people surrounding him but a few seconds later, he fainted.

_Flashback _ The professor was walking down the street in and next to him was Claire Folly. They both walked to a tea shop that had recently opened up in town. Since they both liked tea, they thought it was the best place to go to after their classes ended. When they got there, they each got their own tea.

"You know Hershel, I recently found out about this time travel experiment Dimitri was planning." said Claire.

"Really, when will he be testing it?" asked Hershel while he sipped his tea.

"In about a month he told me. It's still a working progress." said Claire happily.

"Sounds like an amazing idea to me." said Hershel.

"It really is. I would like to travel to the future and see us both. I want to see how we are doing." explained Claire. She really wanted her future to be the best.

"That would be amazing." said Hershel as he gave a toast to the future time machine.

For the rest of the evening the two talked and drank tea. After they finished they both left and took a stroll at the park. When it was getting dark, Hershel took Claire to her home. "Thank you Hershel, for walking me home." said Claire. "Anytime for this beautiful lady." said Hershel. Claire blushed a little but not as much as Hershel did. Before Claire left she gave Hershel a hug. When she walked in her house and closed the door, Hershel thought to himself about how lucky he was to have Claire. When he got home, he took out a notebook and started writing how one day he will propose to her. _Flashback over_

The professor opened his eyes. He seemed to be in a room. _Is this a hospital?_ He thought to himself. The professor looked around to see some machines around him. Confused, he tried to sit up but felt weak. That's when a doctor walked in.

"I see you're awake. For a second I thought we were going to lose you." said the doctor as he looked at a clipboard.

"How long have been out?" asked the professor weakly.

"For about a month. It's a long time but it's good to see you awake. You're still weak though. You must eat right away." explained the doctor.

A month seemed like a long time for the professor. Was he really that severely injured? A few minutes later, food arrived and the professor was forced to eat. He wasn't hungry but he had to eat to get energy. It was a week later that he was released from the hospital. When the professor got home he thought to himself on how lucky he was to be alive. Outside his house was Claire, who had once again appeared to the past. She looked through the professor's window to see a disappointed Hershel. Claire disappeared right as she began to cry. For the next few days, Hershel wasn't sure if he should continue his research.

**I guess this chapter was, kind of boring? Sorry if it was, my mind was on other stuff. I guess I liked the scene, or as I called it a flashback. I will get the next chapter done hopefully by tomorrow.**


	9. Ideas

**Back to another chapter. Let's see how Dimitri's experiment goes this time.**

Dimitri opened the front door to Claire's room. "Claire are-"he was cut off by his sight. There was Claire, on her bed except she was in a ball and sobbing. She was facing the wall so Dimitri only saw Claire's back. The blankets were on the floor and the blinds from her window were closed. The room overall was kind of dark. "Claire what's wrong?" asked Dimitri as he dropped his papers on the table and opened the window's blinds a bit. The sun poured in and illuminated the room. Claire still didn't turn around.

"Claire, tell me what's wrong." said Dimitri as he sat next to her.

Claire sat up and wiped her face with her hands. She only kept sniffing and wiping away tears that tried to escape her eyes.

"Claire, please tell me." said Dimitri once more.

"D-Dimitri, I went b-back to the past a-again." Claire explained.

Dimitri handed her a tissue and Claire wiped her eyes. He eventually just passed her the tissue box so she can blow her nose and wipe her tears.

"What happened while you were there?" asked Dimitri curiously.

"I saw Hershel. H-He came from the h-hospital. He was o-out for a month. T-that man, he c-caused all of H-Hershel's severe injuries." explained Claire as she continued to sob. "We should stop this e-experiment. I should just go back and never come back to the future. I can't bear to go back to the past and see Hershel in pain again." said Claire.

"But I fixed the machine. All is ready for the experiment." said Dimitri.

Claire only sat there and blew her nose. "Please Dimitri, I can't try the experiment again." said Claire. Claire dropped her head on Dimitri's shoulder and sobbed. Dimitri felt her pain and he did his best to calm her down. After Claire finally calmed down, Dimitri insisted they try the experiment one more time. Claire agreed and the experiment began. The results; it failed just as it did the first time. Dimitri and Claire cleaned the room and when Dimitri left, Claire took a shower and put on some clean clothes. It was there when Claire realized that no matter how many times Dimitri would try the experiment, they would fail. Claire knew that Dimitri was missing an ingredient that the machine needed. Without it, the machine would only fail. _Perfect, if he doesn't know that he is missing something, the experiment will fail, and I will go back to my true time _thought Claire.

Days passed by and Dimitri tried the experiment over and over, only to fail. Claire didn't return the past for those few days. She didn't mind, she knew if she was patient, she would return. But one day, all changed. Dmitri came in saying he had good news.

"I found out I was missing something, I have the ingredient but it will take days to prepare the machine for another experiment." said Dimitri.

"Well, congratulations." said Claire as she forced a smile. "Oh Dimitri, I have thought about going out to public, with these clothes." explained Claire as she gave a twirl to show Dimitri.

"Sounds good to me as long as you be careful. If you see that anyone is looking at you suspiciously, come back quickly." said Dimitri as he started to walk out the door. "I have to go now; I have to prepare the machine for the experiment."

"Bye." said Claire. She noticed that Dimitri had left fast. He was in the rush to finish the machine.

Claire decided that tomorrow she would go out to the streets. She does miss walking in London and she keeps on wondering if her favorite tea shop is still in town. The only downside of her life there was that Dimitri knew what he was missing.

**Thanks for all those reviews, im feeling happy. AND I'm not trying to create a Dimitri and Claire paring. I don't think they are meant to be. But I figured Dmitri is a good co worker so why not let him be there for Claire. Next chapter should require some tissues. I better get them out.**


	10. Ghost

**Another chapter coming up. This takes place a few days after the professor came out from the hospital. This should be interesting to type…**

The professor stood there, holding a recent news paper. He was at his office, as usual, studying a mystery. The newspaper's title was GHOST SPOTTED IN TOWN. A man not too long ago saw a white shadowy figure flying around town, he then said how it soon had feet and could walk. The professor found this a little skeptical. He wasn't exactly sure a ghost was real. Not once in his life has he seen one. The professor was hired for this investigation since he had taken a break from Claire's mystery.

The whole day the professor spent at the library looking at books that were based on ghosts. He tried to look for facts but found t difficult finding out whether the book told true stuff or lies made by imagination. It was that night that changed his thoughts.

The professor was at his house, cleaning up a bit when he heard his name being called out. _Hershel…_ he heard. Confused, the professor stepped toward the noise and blinked twice at what he saw.

"Hershel, it's me." said Claire, looking invisible. She looked the same way she did when she returned before.

"C-Claire?" asked the professor, looking frightened.

"Hershel! It is you!" said Claire as she ran toward the professor.

Claire gave the professor a big hug but Hershel only stood there, in shock. "Hershel it's me. I…" Claire realized it was best to to tell the professor that she had traveled back in time. "You're a ghost. A real ghost." said the professor as Claire let go of the professor. "Yes Hershel, I am." lied Claire. "But how? No, is this real?" he asked. "Yes it is." said Claire tearing up. "But how is this… when did this… what?" the professor was truly confused. "It doesn't matter Hershel. I died this way and we are going to have to deal with it. I'm only here because I wanted to visit you." explained Claire with tears going down her cheeks. "Claire, don't leave me again. Stay here as a ghost." said the professor as he now understood what was going on. That's when Claire started to disappear. "No, Claire! Don't leave." said Hershel as he began to panic. "I'm sorry, I have to. We will meet again though." said Claire as she almost disappeared. But right before she was gone, she grabbed the professor and brought him close for a kiss. The kiss only lasted a second, but for that second, Claire went through a whole flashback about her and Hershel.

When she disappeared the professor only stood there, shocked and sad. "Claire, no…" he said before realizing she was really gone. The next day wasn't any better. The professor had to tell the newspaper company whether the myth was real or not. When the professor got interviewed, he gave them the truth. When the newspaper came out the next day, the title was PROFESSOR HERSHEL LAYTON SAYS GHOST ARE REAL. But he didn't care, he didn't tell them about the "ghost" he saw, he only told them facts he learned.

**Short chapter, I know. Sorry about that but don't worry; next chapter will have Claire out in the city with her different clothes. Please review!**


	11. Wonders

**Ok, now for the chapter everyone has been waiting for, Claire goes out to the London streets! Enjoy!**

It was a sunny day in London and Claire was preparing herself to head on over to the streets of London. She slipped on her shoes and walked toward the door. "Be careful and stay out of trouble." said Dimitri as Claire left out the door. She ran down the building's stairs and burst out the front doors into the public. Claire took a deep breath of fresh air and walked around. She remembered she wasn't supposed to go too far from the building. Claire took small steps into the crowded streets of London and looked around. Truth was, London hadn't changed that much since she left. Everything looked usual to her. When Claire took a turn on a street, she saw her favorite tea shop was still there! Claire quickly took out some money Dimitri gave her and headed to the restaurant.

When she got there, she sat on a table and ordered her favorite tea. As Claire waited for her order, something or _someone_ caught her eye. She turned her head slightly to see a man at the table to her right. He was with a boy, a boy in blue. The man wore a black top hat and... That was all that needed to be said for Claire to realize it was the professor who was sitting at that table. But who was the boy?

"Luke, pass the sugar please." said the professor as his eyes scanned the daily news paper.

"Right away professah!" said Luke as he passed the professor the sugar.

"Thank you." The professor poured sugar into his tea and stirred it with a spoon.

"Anything interesting occurs in the news, professah?" asked an excited Luke.

"Well, there seems to be a time machine test coming up soon." explained the professor.

"Wow that sounds amazing! What if humans actually travel into time?" asked Luke.

"Well, only scientist will now. Oh, and good news, we were invited to see the demonstration." said the professor.

"Wow professah, we get to see time travel!" Luke was overly excited but the professor didn't mind. "Oh, professah, I seem to be out of sugar. Can you ask the lady next to us if she can give us some sugar?"

Claire knew Luke was talking about her, but she tried her best to look like she didn't know. The professor did what Luke wanted and he walked over to Claire. When Claire heard the footsteps, she started to panic. _I'm only Celeste _she thought to herself. When the professor got to her, he spoke softly. "Excuse me miss, may I borrow that sugar?" The professor was pointing to a small bottle that contained sugar. "Why, of course." said Claire. She tried shifting her accent so she wasn't that noticeable. "Thank you. Wait, you're not from around here are you?" asked the professor as he gave Luke the sugar.

"Well, no I um, actually come to visit." explained Claire.

"That's nice. What is your name?" asked the professor as he took a chair and sat next to her.

_Oh great, now I have to socialize with him_ thought Claire. "I'm Celeste. What's your name?" she asked back.

"I'm Professor Hershel Layton, but you can call me Hershel." said the professor.

"It's nice to meet you Hershel. You know, you're a real gentleman." said Claire.

The professor blushed a little but continued talking. "Thank you. You know, someone once told me that. That person meant a lot to me. But, she passed away 10 years ago." explained the professor as he got a little sad.

"I'm sorry to hear that." said Claire, remembering that he still missed her.

"Here's your tea, ma'am." said the waitress as she gave Claire her tea. "Oh, thank you." said Claire. "Oh, well enjoy your tea." said the professor as he gave her back the sugar. The professor returned to his table and enjoyed the rest of his tea. After Claire left the tea shop, she continued walking around the streets, looking at all of the buildings. That was until she bumped into a young man. "Ow." said Claire. The young man stopped to apologize. 'I'm so sorry; I'm just in a rush." After saying that, he turned around and continued speed walking through the crowds. Claire noticed he was carrying machines similar to Dimitri's. Little did Claire know that that was 19 year old Clive.

Claire returned to the building and headed to her room only to find Dimitri tinkering with his machines. "Claire, how did it go?" asked Dimitri. "Great! I talked to Hershel but he didn't recognize me. I also noticed this young man who was in a rush carrying machines similar to yours. Oh, and Hershel mentioned this time travel experiment. Does this have something to do with you?" asked Claire. Dimitri became a little worried when he heard this. "Well, that sounds amazing. I have to go now but tomorrow we will test the experiment one more time!" said Dimitri as he walked out the door with his machines. Claire noticed Dimitri was a little more serious and he ignored Claire's question. Had something occurred, or was he only nervous for the experiment?

**DUN DUN DUUUUUN! Suspense I see? We all know what Clive is doing. *cough* building an underground London *cough* but why is Dimitri so nervous? Why did he ignore Claire's question? Next chapter will reveal the answers! Please Review! P.S. This is the longest chapter in ths story!**


	12. Under London

**Back to another chapter that's ready to go! Here we go into Claire's mysterious life. Enjoy!**

Claire was awakened by the sound of the door being swung open. She quickly turned around to find Dimitri panting and sweating. He held all of the machines in his hands.

"Good morning Claire. Sorry to wake you but we must quickly test this experiment one more time." said Dimitri as he dumped everything on the top of a table.

"What's going on Dmitri? Why the rush?" asked Claire, as she sat up on her bed.

"There is no time to explain. I should have told you earlier but I found it hard to tell you." explained Dimitri as he hooked up the machines and prepared for the experiment.

Claire stood up and slipped on her shoes. Little did she know what Dimitri planned for her. Dimitri quickly started the machines and prepared Claire for the experiment. Every now and then he turned to look at a worried Claire. Claire only dug her hand deep into her jacket's pocket to feel the smooth metallic pocket watch. She slid her finger around it until she felt the handle of it and then she grabbed it with a tight grip. Hundreds of questions went through her head as she remembered the young man with machines. "Here we go." said Dimitri as he pushed a button. Claire snapped out of her world and looked up wide eyed at Dimitri. She could feel it. A strong force all over her body, almost like gravity. It weighed her down and she felt like she was about to collapse. That was until a bright light flashed in her eyes. She closed them tightly and waited for a few second only to feel the force leave and the light disappear.

Dimitri gasped as he saw Claire relax and take a deep breath. Had it worked? Claire opened her eyes to see Dimitri chuckling. "Dimitri?" asked Claire a little frightened. "It worked Claire, you are now stable." said Dimitri in a low, hushed voice. "I worked!" Dimitri ran toward Claire and gave her a hug. Claire only stood there as an overly excited man embraced her tightly. "Claire, it worked!" said Dimitri as he let go of her. Only then did Claire realize it was all real. "Dimitri, it did work! I have to go tell Hershel this!" said Claire with excitement. She tried running to the door but Dimitri stopped her. He put his hands on her shoulders and changed into a serious mood.

"You can't go anywhere Claire. In fact, you have to come with me quickly." said Dimitri.

"What are you talking about? Dimitri, what is going on?" asked Claire.

"It's personal business. You will just have to cooperate with me." explained Dimitri. "You see, you're _not_ fully stable. You need to do one more experiment to fully stabilize you."

"I feel like you're hiding information from me." said a suspicious Claire.

"Ok, look, there are bad people out there and if we don't do what we say, there could be one less person in London and we don't want that. We want to follow their rules and play nice with them. If we don't, then maybe all of London will not be here. That's all I can say because, well, the rest is top secret information." explained Dimitri. Claire nodded in agreement. "Go pack your clothes and items, we are moving to somewhere else." said Dimitri. Claire did what she was told and she packed all of her belongings into a suit case. Both of them left the building and headed to a clock shop. Dimitri did a secret knock that let them in. Claire looked at all of the clocks the owner had on the walls. "Thanks." said Dimitri as he pulled a lever that shook the whole room. When I stopped, Claire and Dimitri left through the same opening only to find another similar looking London still being constructed. "Dimitri, what is this?" asked Claire. "This is a fake underground London; we are using it for an experiment." explained Dimitri.

All was ok until the young man Claire saw approached Dimitri. "Well well well, who do we have here?" asked Clive.

"Hello Clive, this is Claire, the one I'm trying to save." said Dimitri.

"Ah, I know her. I accidently bumped into her while I was headed to the clock shop. Hello Claire." said Clive as he held out his hand to greet her.

"Hello Clive, it's nice to meet you." Claire shook his hand and then turned to Dimitri.

"We are headed to the new apartment you built. I am going to show Claire her new room." explained Dimitri.

"Very well then, I have to go and make sure all is getting complete. Oh, and don't forget you have a time travel experiment to perform in about a week." said Clive as he started walking to the main construction.

Dimitri took Claire to her new apartment building and told her to stay there until he returned. When Dimitri left, Claire unpacked her stuff and looked out her window. Construction was everywhere. She then sat on her bed_. What happened here, Hershel? Do you know what's going on?_ Was Claire's thought before she fell asleep.

**Ok, I'm done with this chapter. Is it getting exciting? Want to know more? Next chapter will be up next! Please keep reading! Oh, and happy Olympics all! I don't usually watch them but just because i like British accents and it's taking place in London, i'm watching! I want to go to London one day.**


	13. Details

**It's been a while since I updated so here is the next chapter! Enjoy!**

Claire woke up from a dream. A dream that caused her to wake up, panting. She remembers it all, the professor dying, Dimitri in charge of it, an experiment gone wrong. She relaxed for a moment and thought to herself, _what made me dream this?_ Claire stood up and looked out her window. The day was still bright but Claire felt tired, like as if it was actually night time. That was when the door swung open. Claire turned around to see Dimitri.

"Claire, good to see you're awake." said Dimitri with a smile.

"Yeah, it's good to see you too." said Claire without mentioning her dream.

Dimitri looked at Claire and decided now was the right time to explain the truth. "Claire, I need to explain the whole story here. Where you are right now, is suppose to be the future London. 10 years to be exact. We are trying to allure the professor here. The only we can think of it is by making him think he traveled 10 years to the future. He should be meeting "future Luke" to help him. Clive will be him in disguise. The professor soon should be worried about his "future self", which will be me in disguise. Soon, when he tries to find me, he will place on these glasses." explained Dimitri as he took out some detailed looking glasses.

"But why are we doing all of this madness?" asked Claire with a serious face.

"Well, it's going to save you, Claire. When these glasses on the professor's face, they will take memories of you that he had. Then I will take those memories, and place them on you, completing you fully. Then, you can live once again. Also, the young man named Clive is getting revenge. A small revenge on Bill hawks; the man who caused your disaster. He also killed Clive's parents in the explosion."

"That's terrible! Poor Clive, he doesn't deserve that." said Claire, looking sad.

"You don't deserve that too. You deserve to live, Claire." explained Dimitri.

Claire finally realized how important she was to Dimitri. She still missed the professor though.

"So when I do my time travel experiment with Bill Hawks, I will make the experiment fail and I will kidnap him. We will use him for the whole experiment." said Dimitri. "Oh, and while the professor is here, you will be in the streets with other residents we will have. If the professor sees you, use your fake name. Don't let him discover who you really are."

Right on that moment, Clive burst through the door. "Dimitri, we need you on the real London. It's urgent." said Clive looking worried. "Ok, I'm coming. I'll talk to you later Claire." said Dimitri as left out the door with Clive. Claire only stood there as she heard Clive and Dimitri's footsteps became quieter. When they finally left the building, Claire continued watching the construction outside. Little by little, the workers built buildings and decorations around the city. Soon enough, everything looked like a real future London. Claire then heard a sound. Something that sounded like paper. She turned to see that someone had slid a letter under the door. Claire picked it up and opened it up. It said:

_Dear Claire,_

_ I won't be here tomorrow. Something accrued in London and I am needed. But don't worry; Clive should take you breakfast tomorrow morning. He will also be there all day. Also, remember this word, CARGO, you will need it for tomorrow. It signifies you come down from your room, go the building to your left and open the doors for me. I will bring something in and I have to have it there as fast as I can._

_ From,_

_ Dimitri Allen_

Claire re read the letter a few more times and finally understood what he was doing. She tucked it away in her pocket and continued looking around her new apartment. Nothing interesting, only simple daily needs. She was glad that she had a full restroom to herself though. As night crept in, Claire prepared herself for sleep. She slipped on some pajamas and sat on her bed. Claire was a little concerned of what Dimitri was doing up in London. It could be dangerous. Claire lay on her bed and closed her eyes. She soon fell into a deep sleep.

**Done, next chapter will here, maybe in a few days. I have a new story on my mind…**


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